Page 12 - ASSET MANAGER 9 (EN)

12 • CROWDHOUSE
THE CLASSIC ACQUISITION OF INVESTMENT PROPERTIES
GENERATES IDLENESS
Given the current negative interest environment, institutional investors must increas- ingly focus on real estate. However, the acquisition is more cumbersome than ever for portfolio managers. Crowdhouse offers a new approach with its private real estate platform.
Interview with Robert Plantak, co-founder, CEO and board member of crowdhouse
Mr. Plantak, you are planning to complete a complete real estate transaction in a few days – isn't that a little too much promised?
No, on the contrary. With the new platform we have bro- kered a volume of CHF 30 million in a short time and the time span has proven to be absolutely realistic. Delays oc- cur at most if more time is required on the part of the buyer – for example, to carry out their own due diligence audit.
What do you do differently with your platform to be able speed up the process in this way?
All properties are pre-negotiated and contractually se- cured, professionally inspected and offered at a fixed
price. There are no bidding procedures. The complete documentation is available for download. Interested parties can therefore begin their own due diligence au- dit immediately and calculate with fixed conditions. If the purchase decision is positive, nothing more stands in the way of a transfer of ownership, provided that transaction security is guaranteed.
In your opinion, why do so many portfolio managers find it so difficult to buy investment properties?
The problem begins with the fact that most attractive properties are never even offered on an open market, but are awarded underhand. Portfolio managers are therefore dependent on their network. It takes a lot of time to query
ROBERT PLANTAK
Co-founder, CEO, Board of Directors
Mr. Plantak is co-founder of crowdhouse and, as CEO, is responsible for the strategic implementation of the vision as well as for the operative business and the organisation of the company. Before crowdhouse, Mr. Plantak was co-founder of a real estate company, which he successfully managed for six years. With his many years of real estate experi- ence and passion for new technologies, he drives innovation at crowdhouse.